Nicole+and+Sarah

Caffeine Analysis

Our ILF Project reasearch topic is to analyze caffeine in various types of tea.​

**__ BACKGROUND RESEARCH __** The list of products containing natural forms of caffeine is growing rapidly. This list includes sodas, coffee, tea, energy drinks and some medications. Because caffeine is becoming much more common in our daily lives, the Canadian government has decided to take a look into what a reasonable amount of caffeine consumption is. As of 2003, this level was lowered for women of child bearing age and children. The average daily amount of caffeine for a healthy adult is approximately 400mg, the equivalent of about 8—oz (237 ml) cups of brewed coffee.

Caffeine is a natural ingredient found in the leaves, seeds or fruit of several plants. It is also manufactured and added to several beverages, and certain cold and headache medications. It is difficult to link precise intake levels of caffeine to specific health effects because tolerance to caffeine differs widely from person to person. For some healthy adults, a small amount of caffeine can have positive effects, such as increased alertness or ability to focus. On the other hand, some people are very sensitive to caffeine. For these people, a small amount of caffeine could cause a lack of sleep, headaches, nervousness and irritability.

The general population of healthy adults is not at risk for potential adverse effects from caffeine if they limit their caffeine intake to 200mg. People who ingest the suggested amount of calcium have a higher chance of not having the side effects of ingesting caffeine. However, even children who get the recommended dose of calcium are at risk to possible behavioural effects from caffeine. Women of childbearing age are at increased risk of possible reproductive effects.

Health Canada’s Recommendations on the amount of caffeine ingested daily:

For children aged 12 and under, a maximum of 2.3mg of daily caffeine intake is recommended by Health Canada. Based on average body weights of children, this means a daily caffeine intake of no more than:

· 45mg for children aged 4-6 · 62.5mg for children aged 7-9 · 85mg for children aged 10-12

Those recommended maximums are the equivalent of about two cans of cola a day. Data is lacking for adolescents over the age of 13 so Health Canada was not able to develop set standards.

References: Health Canada. (2010, March 29). //It's your health-caffeine//. Retrieved from []

**Possible analytical methods:** ​ The following links provide information on what sort of instrumentation is needed to perform caffeine analysis on teas and other beverages. From what I have read so far, we will be using reverse phase HPLC which is the most popular mode of liquid chromatography in use today. Both of the following sources also give known standards and suggested plans on how to go on with our analysis.